Critical Perspectives on Art, Politics and Culture

RIVER RAIL

Readings, resources, and audiovisual material

The rights of nature, ancestral philosophies and defense of territories against extractivism: A selected list of readings, resources, and audiovisual material (in English and Spanish)

For this issue of the River Rail Lauren Bon of Metabolic Studio asked me to recommend readings, resources, and audiovisual texts related to various interconnected themes—the rights of Nature, water rights, extractive industries, and ancestral, black, indigenous and women’s activism in defense of their territories. Given my own research and location in Ecuador, the reading list leans towards Ecuador, South America, oil and mining, and engaged academic and activist research.

There is a lot of wonderful material, much of which is not on this list, given space issues. My apologies for omitting important works. However, my hope is that this sampling is a jumping-off point for your own exploration!

Directed by Amnesty International and Eriberto Gualinga, Indigenous filmmaker and member of the Sarayaku indigeous territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon. A gripping look at the struggles of this indigenous group to keep oil extraction off their land, a fight that is based on their philosophy of Sachak Kawsay.

In the Ecuadorian Amazon, a group of women leaders from different indigenous nationalities fight to stop of growth of the oil frontier. Over the past few years, they have led public forums and marches, and walked hundreds of miles from their territories to meet with the Ecuadorian government in Quito—only to have their demands fall on deaf ears. In this video, they continue their work by travellling along the waterways to different Amazonian communities, in defense of the intertwined rights of Nature and women.

Fabricant, N., & Postero, N. (2015). Sacrificing indigenous bodies and lands: The Political–Economic History of Lowland Bolivia in Light of the Recent TIPNIS Debate. The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, 20(3), 452-474.

Contributor

Diana Coryat

Diana Coryat, Ph.D. is a communication scholar and media activist. Her current research and activism is focused on resistance to extractivism in Ecuador, and how the mediated and artistic practices of social movements shape societal imaginaries. She is the co-founder of Global Action Project (www.global-action.org).